Da Chen's touching new memoir is refreshing in its simple, conversational tone. His most lyrical prose often emerges when he is writing about his roots: the fields, smells and foods of his rural homeland. No matter how high he will climb, it's clear he was nurturing a gift for language and observation long before he reached Beijing or America.With frankness and elegance, Chen paints himself in this memoir as a bridge between old and new, connecting the struggles of his ancestors with his own success.

'He is enormously frank, and remorselessly reflects the currentcondition of the People's Republic of China. Sounds of the River isnot only entertaining but enlightening. Chen's prose…is readableand evocative, moving... Fascinating' TLSTeenager Da Chen gathers soil from the riverbank near his village in China's far south, before he leaves to attend university in Beijing to bear wlmess to his past and contain the sounds of the river of his childhood. Later, spilled on to the dry earth of the North. they will merge two parts of Chen's life. Arriving in Beijing,armed with a dogged determination to learn English and familiarise himself with 'all things Western', he must compete with every other student to wm a chance to study in the US - a chance that rests in the shrewd and corrupt hands of the all-powerful professors.In this remarkable book - by turns ribald, hilarious and heartbreaking Chen retains his indomitable spirit, but will he be any closer to attaining his goal?